Mark from MA
NES Member
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- Jun 4, 2008
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New guns from dealer....different story. If they aren't willing to field strip, then that's silly. Field stripping would be part of showing proper operation and cleaning of the firearm. Many dealers have sign off sheets on that now that the buyer has to check off, as part of a procedure that the dealer has shown you how to operate the gun safely to protect their own ass.When I buy a new gun, I generally tell the clerk I am buying it and ask him to field strip it for a final inspection - even if I know how to do it. I once bought a new PPK/S that was asymmetrically machined (edge of one side of the dust cover came to a point) and could not be seen when the gun was assembled. I would have saved the trouble of sending it back to the Interarms (I think I bought before the S&W days). The importer was great - they agreed with my conclusion the gun was out of spec and sent a replacement without the problem.
I had one dealer refuse to field strip a 1911. I asked "what if there is a big tooling mark or defect?". The answer was "Sir, at that point you will own the gun and it will be between you and the manufacturer, not us".
Not doing that for the customer ranks up where with "Sir., that hood is not being opened until after you pay for the car" in my opinion. Vendors who disagree are free to not sell to me, no hard feelings.
Used blued guns can be a trap - I've seen impeccably maintained blued guns where the original owner never took the grips off for a cleaning and light oil wipedown that were in 95%+ condition except under the grips where less than 50% of original finish was left, plus there was pitting. I have a pristine 5.5" 25-2 I bought from a shop now known for bargains since it was in the used case. Mint except for the cylinder roll mark. I can't bring myself to fire it (too beautiful), but I have it properly oiled and store it with the wood grips removed to avoid under-grip corrosion.
Or how about checking the locking lugs on a well used 1911 to make sure they are not word down from a poor fitting job or DIY drop-in gunsmithing? Hard to do without a field strip.
Used guns bought from someone online.....negative. If you want that pay for a dealer transfer fee and I'm sure my dealer would be willing to do that for you as part of now buying the gun from him. I'm not saying all dealers will do this, but mine would as a favor to me as part of the sale.
Truth is, most of the time the finicky bastard that like that is also a cheap ass as well and doesn't want to pay for a dealer transfer fee. So go pound sand.